1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to a vehicle seat support adapted to support at least one seat on a tubular frame structure mounted in a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Prior Art:
There are tubular seat support frames in which the support members consist of tubes of rectangular cross-section and the seats are mounted on clamps which are clamped onto the tubes. These arrangements have the advantage that the clamps carrying the seats can be mounted to the tubes in any position over the extent of the tubes such that the seat arrangement is variable depending on the availability of space in the passenger compartment. Such adaptability, however, is somewhat limited by the fact that for each seat two clamps are provided and that the tubular support member is supported on legs which are provided with similar clamps for interconnecting the tubular support member and the legs. It is noted that the clamps must have substantial strength so as to be capable of withstanding the seat load during operation of the vehicle but also of preventing rattling of the vehicle seats on the support frames when they are not used. This requires enormous clamping forces which are to be applied to the tubular support member at all times, also when a seat is not used. The clamps therefore are heavy and voluminous. Furthermore, the tubular member, which has to take up the clamping forces, that is the whole seat support is relatively heavy resulting in a relatively large deadweight of the vehicle.
It is accordingly desirable to provide a seat support structure which is relatively light but, nevertheless, has sufficient strength to withstand the loads occurring during vehicle operation and furthermore is unlikely to rattle even after extended use without load. Those properties should, of course, remain unchanged during the life of the structure.